Testimonials

This is what our clients have to say about us

We have been offering weight loss counselling, eating disorder treatment and healthy weight loss plans for 10 years, and feel confident in saying that we provide care, support and results through our expertise and experience.

Client feedback

James has been a fantastic help in solving my issues towards food. I’ve gone from using food as a vehicle to fight fear and create an environment of control, to understanding how my eating habits are linked to emotions and past experiences that have been holding me back.

James is more than just a food therapist. He has a genuine understanding of how emotions can knock on to a person’s lifestyle habits and is genuinely interested in helping the individual take a more positive approach to their life.

Thomas 29*

My life has improved immeasurably since working with WeightMatters, I have new found confidence and have worked to really understand my triggers, which has helped me change my reactions to food - Thank you so much

Sarah 57*

WeightMatters was so much more than just weight loss. It was about motivation and education - it made me accountable. The team are professional, easy going and completely discreet and confidential. I would highly recommend WeightMatters 5-star service to anyone who wants to achieve their ideal weight and feel good about themselves.

Gary Barlow – Singer & Songwriter – Take That*

Despite having been on countless diets, I have had little success at achieving or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I knew that I had bad eating behaviours, but I couldn’t figure out what was causing them, let alone how to stop repeating the same destructive cycle day in and day out.

I realised I needed to approach my weight problem differently, subscribing to another eating programme wasn’t going to help - it might bring temporary relief but wouldn’t fix the underlying issue. So after an extensive online search I contacted Weight Matters and arranged an initial consultation.

I was nervous about the consultation, but as we discussed whether therapy could be helpful for me, I began to relax and dared to hope that I could change. The individual therapy sessions have given me the opportunity to understand the drivers behind my eating behaviour and take practical steps to get my eating under control. I am constantly being challenged but I have seen positive changes and feel a lot better in myself.

I have attended workshops at the practice and have found them very useful. Learning about relevant topics in a relaxed setting, alongside other people who are dealing with similar issues has been invaluable.

The Weight Matters team are professional, compassionate and knowledgable. They’ve shown me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and are navigating the obstacles with me so that I can get to it!

Amy 34*

For years I struggled with my weight, was on endless diets and drinking all manner of sugary shakes and eating cardboard tasting diet food. I always thought that my problem was my lack of willpower and constantly beat myself up for failing to stick to a diet plan long enough to get to my desired weight.

I also had very poor body image and always believed that my life would significantly improve when I was thinner. There were so many things I wanted to do in my life, but kept putting them off until I was thinner. So after finishing yet another unsuccessful diet and paying a fortune for hypnotherapy (which did not work for me), I decided that I needed to focus on the underlying reasons for my weight problems and poor body image, rather than simply trying to “cure” the results of overeating and constant internal negative chatter. I came across Weightmatters by doing a Google search for therapists that focussed mainly on eating issues. Once I had made my initial appointment (which was a full day “breakthrough day’ with James), I thought that I only needed a couple of sessions and I would have solved all the underlying issues. Wrong!

The ‘breakthrough day” unearthed a number of different issues in my past and present life and I realised that my weight problems were not simply because I overate, there were much deeper, ingrained issues which I needed to face. I have had a number of sessions with James who is very professional, thoughtful, completely understands me and gets my issues. Sessions are sometimes quite painful and require a lot of hard work and facing issues head on. However, they can also be a lot of fun - I laugh a fair bit in my sessions. James often makes me see things in different ways and on many occasion has completely changed my thinking on a particular issue.

Working with James feels like a very safe, partnership - together we are working our way through the reasons why I overeat. I have also seen other practitioners at the practice such as Sue Camp the nutritionist. Working with a number of experts in this way has really helped me as they get to see a more fuller picture of me and my issues. Although I am still not at my desired weight, I know one day I will get there with James and Sue’s continued help. For the time being, with more clarity in my thinking and a better understanding of me, my eating is more under control and my body image is beginning to improve. I have even started doing those things I previously only dared to dream about until I was thin enough. I know now I am good enough to do whatever I want to do - regardless of my size.

Christina 40*

After a lifetime of being overweight, trying every diet out there, and feeling like every day was an intense, grinding, mental battle against my own compulsion to overeat, I had finally reached the point in my life where I felt that gastric surgery was my only option. Before committing to the process however, I thought I’d try one last non surgical option, and started seeing James at Weightmatters.

The changes I have experienced both internally and externally are nothing short of miraculous. For years I lived with a gnawing emptiness, and a feeling of needing to binge to feel normal, to deal with stress, anxiety and mood shifts, but now, within the space of 10 months, my life has been utterly transformed. Spending time with James allowed me to delve into the root causes of my unhealthy relationship with food, and slowly pick apart the tangled web of my emotions and childhood experiences.

As a consequence of our work together, dieting is now unbelievably easy, and the weight is falling off me. The compulsion to binge has vanished and I finally feel like I have become a ‘normal’ person. I am eternally grateful to James and his team, and I would strongly urge anyone who thinks they have a food addiction or eating disorder to give Weightmatters a try, to see if they can help you, as they undoubtedly have me.

Barnaby 29*

Tonight was my last session with the team at Weight Matters, I shall miss both Sue and Helena very much. Thank you all so much for what you have done over the last few months, almost a year. You’ve been wonderful. I feel great!

I wanted to write a testimonial, so here it is:

I came to Weight Matters in May 2015 asking for help. I was the fattest I had ever been in my life (Sue has the figures), I was down, depressed, and felt incapable of going through (yet another) diet on my own. I had followed so many different diets before, had lost lots of weight very quickly, and put it all back on (and more) every single time.

Following a chat over the phone with James, he allocated two of his therapists he felt would be best fitted for me, and I booked 12 sessions with Helena Lewis (Eating & Behavioural Therapist), and six with Sue Camp (Nutritional Therapist).

I saw Helena weekly for 12 weeks. Helena is friendly, smart, compassionate and motivational. She understood straight away why I was here and what we needed to talk about. It was sometimes hard and sometimes great fun; I always looked forward to my Monday morning meeting with Helena. It was a brilliant eye opener. Thanks to Helena I understand myself better, especially when it comes to stress and my relationship with food. Understanding helps me control my behaviour. Helena made it easy.

Then, there was Sue. I saw Sue six times between May and December 2015. Sue is Friendly, motivational, caring, relatable, accessible and brilliant fun! Having gone through so many diets before, I was anxious and maybe also scared to meet her, and to hear what she had in store for me. However Sue made me feel at ease straight away, working with me, so I felt comfortable with my new diet. It was actually very straight forward and the “rules” simple to apply; I have never felt that comfortable with my way of eating before. I understand what I eat, I feel amazing about it, and I can control it. I don’t crave certain food anymore, and I am taking things easy. I have continuously been loosing weight since May, over 20 kgs and counting.

I don’t have a goal weight, but I know I want to loose more. I am comfortable with what I eat and I am slowly and surely loosing weight. I’m also happier, feel healthier and calmer. Friends tell me I look 10 years younger then I did a year ago. I might book a few more individual sessions in the future with both Helena and Sue, not only because I will be missing them, but also to tune things up as I go along in my new quest for healthy and happy eating.

Thank you all so much.

Oli 35*

When I first came across the Weight matters practice I had no idea that it would signal the start of a new life for me. I had struggled with an eating disorder and obesity for 25 years and truly felt that I could never recover or change. Having spent years (and a significant amount of money) on failed weight loss attempts, I was stuck and had finally reached my breaking point.

However, from the moment I walked in to the Weight Matters Practice, I knew that it was different. Finally, I had met an amazing group of people who truly understood and cared. Over the next few months, through the SHRINK programme, I began my recovery. I came to terms with the fact that my relationship with food was much deeper than simply overindulging. I felt valued and heard for the first time in my life and I finally faced some very difficult experiences and emotions.

In terms of my own health and nutrition, I feel completely re-educated. I, and in fact my whole family, have enjoyed experimenting with new and varied tastes. Sitting with my children and enjoying a meal together used to be so rare but is now a daily occurrence.

My weight loss journey has just begun but now I feel like a different person. I have been given the confidence to believe in myself and the tools to change what I need to change and I have no doubt that this time I will succeed.

I cannot thank the Weight Matters team enough for giving me back my life.

Lucretia 41*

I have struggled with compulsive overeating since my teens. I have tried a wide range of approaches however, the problem remained. Pregnant with my 2nd child I decided I really needed something targeted that was focused on providing tools to make behavioural changes. The Breakthrough Half Days appealed as they fitted in with my timescales and I also liked the idea of something intensive. I also liked the Weight Matters clinic expertise in dealing with compulsive overeating, as an issue I personally feel it is often overlooked.

Wow, is all I can say. I had more ‘breakthroughs’ during the two sessions with James than I have had in years of trying other therapies etc. He delivered a mixture of helping me to understand the psychology of my issues and also the physical side of my eating behaviours. He provided me with a number of really practical tools which I have already started using. Since the sessions my eating has been much improved. I feel confident I have started making permanent changes for a healthier life.

James was very personable and I found him very easy to talk to. I am so pleased I booked the two Breakthrough Half Days – it was such a worthwhile investment.”

Abigail 36*

I contacted the WeightMatters Practice in May last year and for the first time I felt that there was a possibility of overcoming the destructive relationship with food that took over my life from very young age. Living outside of London, the possibility of Skype appointments were extremely helpful but I also chose to travel to the office for some appointments.

During my sessions with WeightMatters we developed a range of techniques and strategies such that I actually began to feel comfortable around food again and my self-worth as a person began to grow. Eventually I was able to confront issues that I never thought were the root cause of my eating disorder, it was difficult but such a relief to be able to address them in a reassuring environment and to see how they impacted my life and caused me to turn to food. I would thoroughly recommend WeightMatters to anyone who is struggling with their relationship with food or body image.

Rachel 22*

I am a 52 year old woman. I have struggled with a weight problem all my life. Therapy with James at Weightmatters practice taught me why i have continued to struggle despite trying every diet slimming club and even gastric balloon surgery. Each of these things worked to a degree, but i always put the weight back on.

As a last resort i decided my last option was therapy. However i was very skeptical about what i could gain from therapy, and whether i could gel with a therapist. If this was to work i knew i had to divulge my inermost thoughts,and be honest about my eating habits. I was very resistant to the idea, but was desperate to do anything which would help me lose weight.

I could not have been more wrong about not being able to open up and talk about everything and anything. I gelled with James straight away. I found him to be non judgemental understanding, and oozing wanting to help. That gave me the confidence to talk about my binge eating, and attitudes around food. This meant together we were able to untangle so many misguided beliefs I had carried with me from childhood. Also to get rid of the diet culture i had adopted for so many years.

The work we did in therapy has given me the freedom to live my life in the present. In the here and now. For the first time in my life i am living a happy and healthy lifestyle. Therapy has changed so many areas in my life for the better. I could never have come this far without James at Weightmatters Practice. He offered me support understanding and life long tools to enable me to lose weight, and keep it off.

I cannot recommend James at Weighmatters Practice highly enough. Without good therapy i would still be trapped in the negative and self destructive spiral of binge eating, and be stuck with obesity for the rest of my life. Thank you so much James.

Angela 52*

I feel like I have struggled with my weight for my entire life and I got to the point where I didn’t know if I could ever change it.

It took working with the Weightmatters Practice for me to realize that my problems with weight had nothing to do with food.

With their support, I am finally losing weight, finding perspective and feeling better about myself. The best part is that this time I know the weight loss is permanent.